Today’s links are grouped according to categories that work best if you don’t think about them too much. Go read stuff. It’s good for you…

Past

• Historical roster trend (The Book). Ah, the good ol’ ’90s, which brought us Pearl Jam, Soundgarden, and those annoying 12-man pitching staffs that have come to plague our noble sport.
• Mike Cameron: Stealth Star of the ’90s and Aughts (FanGraphs). Former Padres center fielder Mike Cameron, recently shipped from Boston to Florida, is near the end of his line. What a fine, underrated player he was. [h/t reader Didi]
• The Ballad Of Wily Mo Pena (PostGame). Jeff Passan celebrates the former Padres farmhand, who is enjoying a resurgence in Arizona. [h/t BBTF]
• 14 Crazy Baseball Facts (Joe Blogs). In which we are reminded of, among other things, Tim Raines’ greatness… What might have been…
• All You Never Wanted To Know: Quality Starts (Joe Blogs). Bad starting pitchers? Yeah, the Padres have had a few: Kevin Jarvis, Brian Meadows, Tim Redding, Kevin Correia… Heck, even Casey Fossum was in the organization for a couple months (made three whole starts at Portland in 2007).

Present

• Heath can sense the Bell-tale trade signs (Padres.com). Quoth the soon-to-be-former Padres closer:
  

  Guys have to make their decisions that are best for the organization. If that means trading me, I get it. I love San Diego. I love the organization. But sometimes you have to go in a different direction.

  Bell has been fun to watch. I will miss him when he is gone.

• 2011 WAR-Stars (Baseball-Reference). Chase Headley and Mike Adams have been pretty good this year, but you knew that.
• Glory Days (Baseball Prospectus). I’ve been meaning to get up to see the Humboldt Crabs. I have family near where they play their home games. One of these years…
• Ranking Baseball’s Center-Field Camera Shots (NotGraphs). Your mileage may vary depending on aesthetic tendencies. For example, I prefer any of the bottom five to Minnesota’s vertiginous view. That being said, I do agree with the top three. [h/t reader Didi]
• Baseball Teams as Ice Cream Flavors (Timothy Malcolm). The Padres are pistachio, “a niche flavor reserved for true believers.” My not-so-inner snob is totally down with that. [h/t Big League Stew]
• The 2011 All-Collapse All-Stars (Hardball Times). Chris Jaffe’s list includes former Padres prospect Joakim Soria.

Future

• State of The Padres (PadresFuture). Here’s a solid overview of the Padres farm system as it now stands.
• Moorad on Tate (Inside the Padres). Tom Krasovic continues to offer terrific coverage of the Donavan Tate situation, getting this gem from Padres CEO Jeff Moorad:
  

  I think we need to do a better job as an organization understanding the character and makeup of players who we bring in.

  Self-awareness is always a good first step. Next on the agenda: actual change.

• Summer intrigue (Inside the Padres). More from Kras, who muses on this year’s draft, noting that key current Padres staffers cut their teeth with the Red Sox and have demonstrated Boston’s willingness to pay for amateur talent. Jason McLeod chips in a few nice quotes, including this gem:
  

  It does cost a lot of money every year to run a draft, but the return on investment — if you really hit on one guy in a draft, it pays for three or four drafts.

  Note the use of the word “investment” rather than “expense” when discussing talent. It’s a semantic thing, but I like this.

• Padres Sign Jose Ruiz For $1.1 Million (Baseball America). First the draft, now this… The 16-year-old from Venezuela garners praise for “his projectable frame, advanced defense and raw power.” The Padres are determined to find their catcher of the future. [h/t PadresFuture]

There you have it. As always, feel free to add more…